Decorated can.



F. P. MCCOLL.

DECORATED CAN. APPLICATION 51150153.24, 191s.

Patented Feb. 15,1916.

/ Y s @y for! UNITED STATESF PATENT OFFICE.

PRANCIs P. MGCOLL, OP s'r. ANDREWS, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA, AssICNOR To AMERICAN KEY CAN COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OP NEW JERSEY.

DECORATED CAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

To all whom t may concem.'

Be it known that I, FRANCIS a subject of the King of England, residing at St. Andrews, Province of New Brunswick,

Canada, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Decorated Cans, and declare the following to be a. full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

The present invention relates to cans in which commodities of various kin'ds are packaged and particularly to the decoration or labeling of such cans and, in the 'case of cans adapted to be opened by means of keys, to means for insuring the presence of a key when an individual can reaches the consumer. p

The two methods now in use for decorating or labeling cans consist inv printing the decorative or descriptive matter directly upon the material from which the cans are made or else pasting on the cans lprinted paper labels or wrappers. The pasting method is unsatisfactory as it is diiicult to attach the labels so that they will be smooth and will not thereafter become loosened in whole or in part. Where the decorations are printed directly upon the cans there is always the danger of scratching and otherwise marring the decorations during the various operations by which the completed package is produced. Many food productsv are processed after being packaged, that is the complete packages are placed in hot water or steam so as partially to cook the contents. It is impracticable to print decorative or descriptive matter` on these latter cans in bright attractive colors because they will not stand the processing satisfactorily and therefore the decoration ofsuch cans has to be limited to a few dull unattractive colors which will not plainly show the effects of processing or the scratches' therein which are inevitably produced in the processing operation.

The present invention has `for one Of its objects to produce means by which cans may be uniquely decorated in any desired bright attractive colors in a cheap simple way and which will overcome vthe objections to the old decorating processes heretofore noted.

P. MCCOLL,

A further object of the present invention 1s to produce a simple and novel arrangement for attractively labeling or decorating a can and at the same time fastening to the .can a suitable key or opener where the can is of the type with which an opening device is usually supplied.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a can decorated in accordance with one form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1

showing the invention carried a step farther than in the arrangement illustrated in Fig. l; Fig. lis a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a side view of a different form of can from that shown in Figs. 1 and 3 with my invention applied thereto; and Fig. V6 is a view similar to Fig. 4, illustrating a modiication.

In Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawing, the present invention is illustrated as applied to an or-l dinary roll top sardine can, but it will of course be understood that the invention, in its broader aspects is not limited to this particular type of can. Referring to these figures, 1 represents the body of an ordinary rectangular can provided with a roll top or cover adapted to be removed in the usual way by meansof a key slipped upon a projecting ear, 2. One head of the can, 3,. is secured to the body inl such a way as to leave a projecting seam or bead, 4, around the edge, thus leaving one of the sides of the can recessed. In the arrangement shown, the head 3 is connected to the body by means of the ordinary double seam, although any other kind of seam may be used instead.

The usual method of decorating cans of this type is to print the decorative matter directly on the tin plate from which the cans are' made, the colors being dull and unattractive as heretofore stated. In ac- ,cordance with the present invention the decorations are applied in a novel way to the package after ithas been completed and processed, wherethe contents of the can are such that processing is necessary. This may be done in two ways, as shown in Fig.'-

1, or as shown in Fig. 3. In both arrangements there is Aplaced across the recessed side of the can a strip, 5, preferably of tin fastened in place by having its ends bent around the seam 4 as indicated at 6. The strip 5 is preferably placed diagonally as shown so that at least one end engages with 'a straight portion of the seam or bead and oration may be carried a step farther as illustrated in Fig. 3 by laying upon the can underneath the strip a suitably printed or `decorated label, 8, of comparatively stift" thick paper which will be held in place by the strip without curling or warping. In

this arrangement the label and the strip are preferably madeto coperate to produce the effect of a single attractive decoration.

When roll top cans are shipped in quantities, enough loose keysare usually sent with lthem to be delivered individually with the cans as they are sold. The loose keys often become lost so that the storekeener runs* short of keys and, even where a loose key is delivered to the purchaser of a can, the` key may become mislaid so that when the time comes to open the can the key is missing. In the arrangement illustrated, the decorative strip lends itself readily to the purpose of attaching ay key to a can in such a way that it is not apt to become lost, a key, 9, being simply slipped under the strip in the arrangement shown in Fig. l or being placed beneath the label 8 as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. In either case, the key isy yieldingly but firmly held against the head of the can and stays there until the consumer removes it. It will therefore be seenthat my improved labeling means makes it possible to dispense with additionall devices which are sometimes employed for fastening keys to theV cans. b

In Fig. 5 I have shown the round can, 10, across the side of which extends a diagonal strip, 11, corresponding to the strip 5 in the other gures, the ends ofthe strip being bent around the seams 12 at the ends of the can as indicated at'lfl. rIhe entire' decoration may be carried by the strip ll or, as in the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 3, a suitably decorated wrapper may be placed underneath thetripand be held in place thereby. t

n Win be geen that if the Strip in rigs..

l to t is made of comparatively stift' resiliv the aid of the additional fastening means comprised by the end-v pieces hich are bent over the beads/or ribs. Therefore, in some cases the strip may be madey just long -r enough to be sprung in pla-ce between the opposing ribs or beads, the bent end porv tions being omitted. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 6, the strip 15 being made just'long enough to extend across the can and being sprung in place so as to be held v only through the engagement of its ends with the ribs or beads.

It will now be seenthat I have produced a simple and, novel arrangement for' decorating cans in such a way that the printing of the can bodies or the pasting of wrap pers thereon becomes unnecessary, so that cans whether processed or not can be decorated in bright attractive colors without resorting to the unsatisfactory pasting method of labeling them and with the assurance that the decorationsl will be unmarred. Furthermore, the necessity of keeping separate stocks of cans, each bearing different printed matter is avoided; only a single stock of plain cans being required for all goods packed in a particular size of can, regardless of the variations in the trade marks and otherJ descriptive or decorative matter which may be used, such decorative or descriptive matter being supplied from proper stocks of strips or labels.

I/Vhile` I have illustrated and described with particularity only a few embodiments of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus'illustrated and described, but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which fall within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention, constituting the appended claims. y I claim: A 1. A can having a projecting bead around. the edge of one side, a strip extending across said side'and having its ends engagedwith said bead t0 hold the strip in place, and a key lying between said side and said strip and held in place by the strip. a r

2. A can having projecting beads at opposed edges, a strip extending across a side of the can and having its ends lengaged with said beads to hold the strip in place,

and a label lying between said side and said strip and held in place lby the strip.

3. A can having a cup-shaped head :fitting into the body with the mouth directed. outwardly, the flanged portion lof the head rnd the adjacent portions of the can bodyrbeing bent toform a seam joining the head and body together, a strip of metal extending across the head and having its ends engaged with the seam to hold the strip in place.

4. A can having a cup-shaped head fitting into the body with the mouth directed outwardly, the flanged portion of the head and the adjacent portions of the can body being bent to form a seam joining the head and body together, a metal label extending across the head and having its ends bent around the seam to hold the label in place.

5. A rectangular can having a projecting bead around the edge of one side, a strip extending diagonally across -said side and having its end bent around said bead -to hold the strip in place, and a key lying between and held by said side and the strip.

6. A rectangular can having a projecting bead around the edge of one side, a strip extending diagonally across said side and having its end bent around said bead to hold the strip in place, and a label lying between and held by saidside and the strip.

7. A rectangular can havingabead extendingaround the edge of one head and projecting above the same to form therewith a recess in one side of the can, a metal strip extending diagonally across said recess and having its ends bent around said bead to hold the strip in place, and a key lying between. and held by said side and the strip.

8. A rectangular can having a bead extending around the edge of one head and projecting above the same to form there! with a recess in one side of the can, a metal strip extending diagonally across said recess and having its ends bent around said bead to hold the strip in place, and a label lyingbetween and held by said side and the stri 9. In combination, a rectangular can body having rounded corners, a cup-shaped head fitting into one end of said body and united thereto by having its iiange and a portion of the can body bent into a seam, a key lying on said head, and a strip extending diagonally across said head and over the keyand having its ends bent around said seam, a portion of one of the ends engaging with a straight part of the seam and also with `a rounded part at one of the corners.

10. In combination, a rectangular can body having rounded corners, a cup-shaped head fitting into one end of said body and united thereto by having its flange and a portion of the can body bent into a seam, a label lying on said head, and a strip extending diagonally across said head and over the label and having its ends bent around said seam, a portion of one of the ends engaging with a straight part of the seam and also with a rounded part at one of the corners.

l1. A can having projecting beads at opposed edges, and a decorated strip extending across a side of the can and having its ends bent around said beads.

l2. A can having projecting beads at opposed edges, a decorated strip extending diagonally across a side of the can and having its ends bent around said beads.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS P. MGCOLL. Witnesses:

WM. F. FREUDENREICH, RUTH E. ZETTERVALL. 

